Tennis: Morita closer to first title in Malaysia

Morita, who ranks 55 in the world, will meet 127th-ranked Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic in semi-final.

KUALA LUMPUR: Japan’s Ayumi Morita edged closer to winning her first ever WTA title after reaching the semi-finals of the BMW Malaysian Open yesterday.

The fourth seed had to dig deep in the quarter-final before getting the better of qualifier Luksika Kumkhum.

The Thai gave as good as she got before Morita stepped up through the gears to win 6-7 (7-9), 6-4, 6-1.

“I’m very happy to be in my fourth career semi-finals,” said Morita. “I hope to continue doing my best and try to go further this time.”

Morita, who ranks 55 in the world, will meet 127th-ranked Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic in today’s semi-final.

Meanwhile, Pliskova eliminated Austrian Patricia Mayr-Achleitner 7-5, 6-1 to set-up the meeting with Morita.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 2^nd, 2013.